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In Corinth

18 After these things he departed (A)Athens and went to (B)Corinth. And he found a Jew named (C)Aquila, a native of (D)Pontus, and his wife (E)Priscilla, who recently came from (F)Italy because (G)Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he was staying with them and (H)they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning (I)in the synagogue every (J)Sabbath and trying to persuade both (K)Jews and Greeks.

But when (L)Silas and Timothy (M)came down from (N)Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly (O)bearing witness to the Jews that (P)Jesus is the [a]Christ. But when they resisted and blasphemed, he (Q)shook out his garments and said to them, “Your (R)blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go (S)to the Gentiles.” Then he left there and went to the house of a man named [b]Titius Justus, a (T)God-fearer, whose house was next to the synagogue. (U)And Crispus, (V)the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord (W)with all his household, and many of the (X)Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. And the Lord said to Paul in the night by (Y)a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will lay a hand on you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12 But while Gallio was (Z)proconsul of (AA)Achaia, (AB)the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before (AC)the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to (AD)the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to (AE)open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; 15 but if there are (AF)questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am not willing to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he drove them away from (AG)the judgment seat. 17 And they all took hold of (AH)Sosthenes, (AI)the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of (AJ)the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos

18 And Paul, having remained many days longer, (AK)took leave of (AL)the brothers and put out to sea for (AM)Syria, and with him were (AN)Priscilla and (AO)Aquila. In (AP)Cenchreae [c]he (AQ)had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. 19 And they arrived at (AR)Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered (AS)the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but (AT)taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again (AU)if God wills,” he set sail from (AV)Ephesus.

22 And when he had landed at (AW)Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to (AX)Antioch. 23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the (AY)Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

24 Now a Jew named (AZ)Apollos, an (BA)Alexandrian by birth, [d]an eloquent man, arrived at (BB)Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in (BC)the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with (BD)the baptism of John; 26 and [e]he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when (BE)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him (BF)the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to go across to (BG)Achaia, (BH)the brothers encouraged him and wrote to (BI)the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly [f]helped those who had believed through grace, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating (BJ)by the Scriptures that (BK)Jesus is the [g]Christ.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 18:5 Messiah
  2. Acts 18:7 One early ms Titus; two other early mss omit the name
  3. Acts 18:18 Lit having his hair cut
  4. Acts 18:24 Or a learned man
  5. Acts 18:26 Lit this man
  6. Acts 18:27 Or helped greatly through grace those who had believed
  7. Acts 18:28 Messiah

Founding the Corinthian Church

18 After this, he[a] left Athens and went to Corinth,(A) where he found a Jew named Aquila,(B) a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them, and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade,(C) he stayed with them and worked. He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.(D)

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word[b] and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.(E) When they resisted and blasphemed,(F) he shook out his clothes(G) and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads!(H) I am innocent.[c] From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”(I) So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household.(J) Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.

The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.”(K) 11 He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.

12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal.(L) 13 “This man,” they said, “is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

14 As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or of a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews. 15 But if these are questions about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”(M) 16 So he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all[d] seized Sosthenes,(N) the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal, but none of these things mattered to Gallio.

The Return Trip to Antioch

18 After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.(O) 19 When they reached Ephesus(P) he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined, 21 but he said farewell and added,[e] “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.”(Q) Then he set sail from Ephesus.

22 On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch.(R)

23 After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.(S)

The Eloquent Apollos

24 Now a Jew named Apollos,(T) a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit,[f] he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism.(U) 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside[g] and explained the way of God to him more accurately.(V) 27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.(W) 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.(X)

Footnotes

  1. 18:1 Other mss read Paul
  2. 18:5 Other mss read was urged by the Spirit
  3. 18:6 Lit clean
  4. 18:17 Other mss read Then all the Greeks
  5. 18:21 Other mss add “By all means it is necessary to keep the coming festival in Jerusalem. But
  6. 18:25 Or in the Spirit
  7. 18:26 Lit they received him